Rifaela, McKenzie earn top Carolina honors

Frederick outfielder Ademar Rifaela's big numbers totalled up to some nice hardware on Thursday.
The Orioles slugger was named Carolina League MVP and Lynchburg's Triston McKenzie was voted Pitcher of the Year as the Class A Advanced circuit revealed its end-of-season All-Stars and award-winners.

Rifaela, 22, is hitting .280 with 24 homers, 78 RBIs, 21 doubles and a .350 OBP in 121 games this season. The native of Curacao leads the league in homers and ranks second in RBIs.
McKenzie, who leads the circuit in wins, is 11-6 with a 3.57 ERA in 24 starts. The Indians right-hander has struck out 176 and walked 45 in 136 innings during a season that included an invite to the All-Star Futures Game and a pair of Pitcher of the Week awards. He was voted to the Carolina League's mid-season All-Star squad earlier this summer.
Lynchburg's duo of Tony Mansolino and Bobby Ruiz were selected as Manager and Trainer of the Year, respectively. The Hillcats, who had four players named to the All-Star squad, are in first place at 42-23 in the second half and have gone 82-52 overall this year.

2017 Carolina League Postseason All-Star Team

* Most Valuable Player
† Pitcher of the Year